House left empty doesn't stay empty, thanks to big bear

MAGALIA — When Tina Sunderland trekked up to Magalia to check on her house after a recent storm, she knew she was going to see that it was damaged. But she didn't realize that she would find her home had also become occupied — by a bear.

Nor did Henry Lomeli, associate wildlife biologist with the Department of Fish and Game, expect to come face-to-face with the bear while crouched on his hands and knees under Sunderland's house.

The animal apparently had found the home a cozy place to spend at least the past several months. Sunderland last visited in July.

He'd made quite a nest for himself, including tearing apart the insulation, and had attempted to move up through the floor where it was warmer.

Sunderland has been living in the Bay Area for more than a year to care for her parents. While she was gone, Aaron Hattley, of Aaron's Yardcare, has kept the yard nice and "made it look like someone lived there."

During the recent storms, the wind knocked down a tree, which did some damage to the home, in the Paradise Pines area of Magalia. Sunderland, who built the house in 1989, came up to meet with workers and insurance adjusters with her friend, Julie Matthews.

The first night, Monday, the gals were in the house, vacuuming and dancing to rock and roll music, Matthews said.

At about midnight, "We heard 'pound-pound,' and Tina pounded (on the floor).

"Then the bear pounded" back.

They thought a transient had moved in under the house, and maybe a "pervert," the women joked, because they heard grunting.

They called 9-1-1 and the Butte County Sheriff's Office was sent out.

"The cops did check," Matthews said. "One of the guys looked under the deck and they could see a bear under the crawl space."

The officers stayed until about 4 a.m. and determined it was not an aggressive bear, Matthews said.

The women only slept for a few hours that night.

Tuesday, Henry Lomeli of Fish and Game arrived in the early afternoon.

"I didn't know what the situation would be," he said, and crawled through the crawl space, which is about 3 feet wide and tall.

He saw that the bear, estimated at about 450 pounds, had been "setting up shop."

"When I got under the house to where they heard all the noise, that's when I saw the bear," Lomeli said.

He did not want to tranquilize the bear, because getting the animal out would be difficult, and could harm the bear or further damage the house.

Instead, he took about eight sponges and soaked them in concentrated ammonia. He threw the sponges and set up a fan to blow the fumes at the animal.

"The bear immediately started to vacate."

"By the time I got back to make sure everything was working, I came face-to-face with the bear," which was about 3 feet from where Lomeli was on his hands and knees.

Although the run-in with the animal was closer than he would have liked, the ammonia trick did the job.

"I was surprised at how quickly he got out of there. I was hoping he would take a little longer.

"I wish all situations happened like that," the biologist said — "resolved peacefully where the house wasn't harmed and no one was injured."

The crawl space where the bear and Lomeli had entered was sealed later that day.

But later that evening, the women were in the home and Matthews saw the bear come up onto the patio and "knock on the window."

"I screamed," and went to hide."

They decided to seek a hotel in Paradise for the night.

The next day, Wednesday, a contractor pointed out where the bear had made claw marks on the now-sealed crawl space.

Reached Wednesday in the early evening, the women were in good spirits and planning to spend a second night in a Paradise hotel.

"When we leave the house we leave the music on," Sunderland said.

They were considering what could be done next. They believe the bear might have become comfortable with the home, and if it comes back it might need to be taken down.

Matthews said they warned the children in the area the bear is in the neighborhood. Neighbors also told her they've had garbage cans knocked down and fences broken, likely by the same bear.

Lomeli said contrary to what many people think, bears don't always hibernate. If there is a steady source of food, often through garbage bins and trash cans, bears will stay active during the winter.

"Almost all our bear problems begin with non bear-proof trash cans" and can unfortunately end with animals being killed.